Adjustable anti thumb sucking device



Oct. 23, 1956 R. w. HOLLAND 2,767,709

ADJUSTABLE ANTI THUMB Sucxmc DEVICE Filed Dec. 13, 1954 1214 HQ/laz'icl,INVENTOR ATTORNEY United The hereinafter described device relatesgenerally to habit correcting devices and more particularly to a deviceadapted to be fitted over the thumb of an infant so that it will beuncomfortable in most cases and impossible in others for the infant toplace the thumb in its mouth.

The habit of thumb sucking is prevalent among young children and in somecases is carried through into the initial school year of the childslife. In addition to the habit being unsightly there is a possibility ofthe child transmitting infection to its system through the mouth and insome cases it is possible for the mouth of the infant to becomedeformed.

Numerous devices have in the past been advanced to prevent this habit.Among these have been cloth or metal guards that fit over the thumb orover the entire hand and liquid preparations that may be purchased andapplied to the thumb to create a bitter taste Whenever the thumb isplaced in the mouth. Of these, the metal guards have been the mostsatisfactory but these have been generally all of one size and it hasbeen very difficult to compress or enlarge the device to fit properlyover various sized thumbs.

The principal object of the present device is therefore to provide ananti thumb sucking device that may be adjusted quickly and easily to avariety of thumb sizes and once adjusted will remain at the correctsize.

A second object is to provide a device that may be manufactured easilyfrom readily obtainable low cost materials.

Additional objects and advantages of my device will become obvious froma reading of the attached specification in the light of the attacheddrawings. It must be understood that the information disclosed thereinis by way of example and illustration only and is not to be construed asa limitation. Obviously the invention is to be limited only by theappended claim and by the prior art.

In the drawings illustrating one preferred embodiment of my idea:

Figure 1 is a projected View of my complete device.

Figure 2 is an enlarged broken away detailed view of the thumb engagingband.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of Figure 2.

Paten With reference now to the drawings, my device comprises theannular thumb engaging band 1 which is split apart at 2 and is providedwith the fastening mechanism referred to generally by the numeral 3.Fastened rigidly to the band 1 at 4, 4 and 5, 5 are the U-shaped members6 and 7 respectively. The members 6 and 7 are in turn fastened securelytogether at 8.

The fastening mechanism referred to generally by the numeral 3 will bedescribed specifically with reference to the enlarged broken away viewillustrated in Figure 3 in the drawings. Here it will be seen that theends of the thumb engaging band 1 are provided with collars 9 and 10.Fitted in the collar 9 is the locking bar 11 which, it will be noted, isU-shaped in construction having one of the arms of the U formeddownwardly into the hook 12. The collar 10 is provided with theplurality of slots 13 which are adapted to receive the hook portion 12of the locking bar 11 when the bar 11 is inserted thereinto.

It will now be obvious immediately that the diameter of the annularthumb engaging band 1 may be enlarged or compressed throughout thelimits of the plurality of slots 13 by the simple expedient ofdisengaging the hook 12 from the slots and then sliding the arms of theengaging bar 11 out of the collar 10 as illustrated in Figure l in thedrawings or further into the collar 10 as indicated in Figure 2 in thedrawings. Once the band has been enlarged or compressed to its correctsize the bar 11 is released and the hook 12 Will thereupon engage withone of the slots 13.

In operation the device would be fitted over the thumb so that the band1 would be positioned behind the first joint thereof or thumb knuckle.The band 1 would then be adjusted so the device could not be pulled oraccidentally knocked off unless the fastening mechanism 3 were released.

What I claim as my invention is:

In an anti-thumb sucking device, an adjustable annular thumb engagingband adapted to encircle the thumb below the first joint thereof, aplurality of U-shaped members fixed at their ends to the thumb engagingband and adapted to inclose a portion of the thumb forward of the thumbengaging band, the said adjustable annular thumb engaging band beingsplit and provided at its ends with collars with a locking bar fixed toone of the ends of the split thumb engaging bands to project therefromand having its forward end formed into a hook, a plurality of openingsin the other end of the said thumb engaging band, such openings beingadapted to receive the said hook on the locking bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,229,633 Manning June 12, 1917

